PRC police ask woman to axe White House petition

Having tea usually means someone has been called by domestic security personnel for a talk.

“It was merely a chat,” B.Y. said in the interview. “They wanted to know what the opposing views were and if there were other issues the public are worried about.”

Asked whether the White House had provided any information to Chinese authorities to help them identify the petition writer, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said it does not disclose users’ information to any outside person or organization.

Unable to remove the White House petition, B.Y. attempted to comply with the police request by deleting a Sina Weibo post that had called attention to the petition, but she is also continuing to post Chengdu pollution levels on her microblog.

Quoting a well-known Chinese author, Hao Qun (郝群), who goes by the pen name Murong Xuecun (慕容雪村) and whose own microblog was recently censored, B.Y. said: “I am going to stay here until the stone blossoms.”